Book Crush: For Kids and Teens - Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Interest (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I use adorable here with no bit of irony attached: this group of picture books and readers are charming, funny, and entrancing..." (more)
Key Phrases: teen readers, Mother Goose, African American, King Arthur (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

The well-known adult readers' advisory expert attempts to extend her range into the world of youth. Immediately, quibbles arise. Why list only a few "Dragon Tales" for the middle readers, leaving out the dynamite series by Susan Fletcher, Jane Yolen, and Laurence Yep? Why isn't Ji-li Jiang's Red Scarf Girl listed in the section on memoirs for teens? Since Pearl mostly lists sequels when she mentions a title, did she really think that the sequel to Daniel Pinkwater's The Hoboken Chicken Emergency didn't deserve to be included? Why not point out the offensive qualities of Lynne Reid Banks's "The Indian in the Cupboard" series when you issue a caveat in your introduction about books published before 1960 having some offensive aspects for Native Americans? Why not include Jessica Haas and K. M. Peyton novels in the section on horses for middle readers along with old classics? Why are the teen "Queens of Fantasy" Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce here, but not Anne McCaffrey? Why include M. T. Anderson's Feed in the section for middle readers? Many of the titles are old and out of print, which will ensure interlibrary loan in many locations. Among youth services professionals this volume will start lots of arguments and should be soon filled with sticky notes. Knowledgeable readers won't need it, but for those new to the field or who have a hard time thinking in readers' advisory categories, it could prove useful to get the juices flowing.—Carol A. Edwards, Douglas County Libraries, Castle Rock, CO
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Product Description

Parents, teachers, and librarians are often puzzled by the seemingly endless choices for reading material for young people. What’s good, what’s trash, what’s going to hold their interest? Nancy Pearl, America’s favorite librarian, has read widely in all the genres and happily points the way in Book Crush. Divided into three sections — Easy Books, Middle-Grade Readers, and Young Adult — Book Crush makes wonderful reading connections by theme, setting, voice, and ideas. For horse lovers, Pearl recalls the classics (Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague), but in a creative twist connects Mr. Revere and I to the list. For middle-grade readers, she explores updated retellings of Greek myths and the best coming-of-age stories. Young adult readers get to know chick lit and much more. For those adults who feel stuck in a rut with Caldecott and Newberry winners and the ubiquitous Harry Potters, this fun, informed book offers new ways to stimulate young readers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (March 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570615004
• ISBN-13: 978-1570615009
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,031 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 24, 2007

By	Nancy Wells (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

As Nancy Pearl makes clear in her introduction, children's and teen books aren't her specialty, and it shows. She lumps books into only three categories (!) for ages 1-18: babies to age eight; 8-12; and 13-18. Those are huge ranges; most books for an 18-year-old are not suitable for a 13-year-old. So good luck figuring out which one is actually for your child's age and reading level. She gives little information beyond author, title, sometimes the illustrator, and a line or two about the book. She doesn't give number of pages, publisher, date of publication, etc. I assume it didn't take her long to throw this together. I know she has a lot of fans, and I find her books for adults well-informed if cluttered. But this "guide" is truly disappointing.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Teachers & Librarians, June 18, 2007

By	S. Feicht "seefeicht" (Rensselaer, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Professionals who work with children and teens will find Nancy Pearl's latest book a treasure. Parents, grandparents, doting aunt's will discover a bounty of books to purchase or suggest to the children in your life. Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl tells about her favorite books from childhood and today with contagious enthusiasm. Every school and public library should have a copy at hand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars hard to use, January 22, 2009

By	Cathe Olson "natural foods cookbook author" (In the kitchen) - See all my reviews

I love the idea of this book but I thought it would be more like the Books to Grow With, which lists the book title and information, and a description of each book under various topics. While I did like some of the topics in the mid-grade section like `Good Books for Discussion', `Laugh Out Loud', `Not a Dry Eye in the House'. I wasn't thrilled with the YA topics, such as `Up All Night' (violent books), `May I Have This Dance' (old fashioned books), `Slowly Unraveling' (books that take some figuring out) and `Tam Lin' (not even quite sure what this category is even after I read the author's explanation)--and I don't think teens would be thrilled either. The titles for teach section are confusing and it's hard to know what kind of books they'll contain. The other thing I don't like is that the book is written in prose style and the titles are mixed into the prose. I don't want to have to read the whole book to find recommendations. I was looking for more of a reference with what each book is about.